74th OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2007 Regular Session
NOTE: Matter within { + braces and plus signs + } in an
amended section is new. Matter within { - braces and minus
signs - } is existing law to be omitted. New sections are within
{ + braces and plus signs + } .
LC 561
A-Engrossed
House Bill 2206
Ordered by the House April 19
Including House Amendments dated April 19
Ordered printed by the Speaker pursuant to House Rule 12.00A (5).
Presession filed (at the request of Governor Theodore R.
Kulongoski for Department of Community Colleges and Workforce
Development)
SUMMARY
The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the
measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject to
consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor's
brief statement of the essential features of the measure.
Establishes Skill Up Oregon Fund. Continuously appropriates
moneys in fund to Department of Community Colleges and Workforce
Development.
Establishes program to award grants to local and regional
workforce investment boards to provide workforce training to
individuals to become employed in high-demand occupations.
{ + Establishes Apprenticeship Support Account in Skill Up
Oregon Fund. Directs Department of Community Colleges and
Workforce Development to biennially transfer specified amount
from fund to account. Continuously appropriates moneys in account
to State Apprenticeship and Training Council.
Establishes program to award grants for programs that enhance
development of apprenticeship and training system that supplies
skilled labor to meet occupational demands of construction and
manufacturing industries.
Declares emergency, effective July 1, 2007. + }
A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to Skill Up Oregon Fund; appropriating money; and
declaring an emergency.
Whereas Oregon is in a competitive race with the rest of the
world; and
Whereas China, India and many European countries are
restructuring from industrial to information-based economies and
are investing to build the skills of their workers; and
Whereas key trends are creating a 'quiet crisis' to which
Oregon must respond, including globalization, demographic shifts
with an aging and more diverse workforce and advancing technology
that requires high levels of skills and more capacity of our
education and workforce systems to respond so Oregon workers can
keep pace with the rest of the world; and
Whereas Oregon has more than 250,000 adults who are no longer
in school and do not have a high school diploma; and
Whereas approximately 26 percent of adults with low literacy
speak English as a second language and represent about four
percent of the labor force; and
Whereas Skill Up Oregon will help Oregonians who need basic and
technical skills prepare for living wage opportunities; and
Whereas to be competitive, Oregon must prepare all of its
citizens for tomorrow's jobs; now, therefore,
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
SECTION 1. Sections 2 and 3 of this 2007 Act are added to and
made a part of ORS 660.300 to 660.339.
SECTION 2. { + (1) The Skill Up Oregon Fund is established in
the State Treasury, separate and distinct from the General Fund.
Interest earned by the Skill Up Oregon Fund shall be credited to
the fund. Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section,
moneys in the fund are continuously appropriated to the
Department of Community Colleges and Workforce Development for
the purposes of section 3 of this 2007 Act.
(2)(a) The Apprenticeship Support Account is established in the
Skill Up Oregon Fund. Interest earned by the account shall be
credited to the account. Separate records shall be maintained for
moneys in the account.
(b) Each biennium, the department shall transfer 10 percent of
the total amount of moneys distributed from the Skill Up Oregon
Fund, but not more than $4 million, to the account. In addition,
the account may consist of other federal and local government
funds made available or donated to the State Apprenticeship and
Training Council for the purposes of section 5 of this 2007 Act.
(c) Moneys in the account are continuously appropriated to the
State Apprenticeship and Training Council for the purposes of
section 5 of this 2007 Act.
(3) The department may use a portion of the moneys in the fund,
and the council may use a portion of the moneys in the account,
for administrative costs. The amount of moneys used by the
department or council for administrative costs may not exceed the
limitation on administrative costs established in the federal
Workforce Investment Act.
(4) Based on the limitations on administrative costs specified
in subsection (3) of this section, the department and the council
shall limit the percentage of grant funds that may be used for
administrative costs by grant recipients. + }
SECTION 3. { + (1) The Department of Community Colleges and
Workforce Development shall award grants to local and regional
workforce investment boards based on guidelines developed by the
State Workforce Investment Board for the WorkSource Oregon system
in cooperation with local and regional workforce investment
boards.
(2) The department shall determine the allocation of the grants
among local and regional boards based on the following local and
regional factors:
(a) The size of the labor force;
(b) The unemployment rate; and
(c) The number of employers.
(3) The State Workforce Investment Board shall identify for
each biennium a list of high-demand occupations for which an
individual may receive training using grant funds awarded under
this section. The board shall base the list on research, data and
analysis provided by the Employment Department and the Economic
and Community Development Department in reports and on
projections for both new and replacement jobs.
(4) In determining the occupations to target within its region
with grant funds for a biennium, each local or regional board
that receives a grant shall:
(a) Review the list of high-demand occupations created by the
State Workforce Investment Board and compare the list with
regional data and the regional investment plan;
(b) Consider employer needs, regional investment plans and
targeted industry clusters; and
(c) Give preference to occupations for which employers in the
region have expressed willingness to provide internships, paid
employment or other work experience.
(5) Grant funds shall be used to address the needs of the
following categories of transitional workers:
(a) Unemployed workers, including both individuals receiving
unemployment insurance and individuals not receiving unemployment
insurance;
(b) Dislocated workers; and
(c) Low-skilled workers, including individuals who have
received or are currently receiving public assistance.
(6) The purpose of the grants is to address work readiness,
literacy and technical skills of individuals. Local and regional
boards may use the grants to:
(a) Assess individuals for gaps in work readiness, literacy and
technical skills;
(b) Contract with regionally accredited education providers, or
with providers that are on the list of eligible training
providers maintained by the Department of Community Colleges and
Workforce Development under ORS 660.318, to train individuals in
work readiness, literacy and technical skills required to
overcome barriers to employment;
(c) Contract with regionally accredited education providers, or
with providers that are on the list described in paragraph (b) of
this subsection, to train individuals in technical skills that
focus on occupations identified by local and regional boards in
the target industry clusters identified in regional investment
plans; and
(d) Contract with regionally accredited education providers, or
with providers that are on the list described in paragraph (b) of
this subsection, to train individuals to provide the individuals
with certificates, degrees or industry-recognized credentials
that will document the industry-related competencies, knowledge,
skills and abilities that have application in the high-demand
occupations identified by the State Workforce Investment Board.
(7) Regionally accredited education providers, or providers
that are on the list described in subsection (6)(b) of this
section, contracted by local and regional boards shall provide
training that prepares individuals to qualify for skilled jobs or
pathways to skilled jobs that pay a median or higher wage for the
region in one of the high-demand occupations.
(8) Regionally accredited education providers, or providers
that are on the list described in subsection (6)(b) of this
section, contracted by local and regional boards shall provide
training to individuals on a first-come, first-served basis, with
priority going to those individuals who would no longer need
public assistance after training.
(9) A regionally accredited education provider, or a provider
that is on the list described in subsection (6)(b) of this
section, contracted by a local or regional board may provide
training to an individual for up to one year. Each individual who
receives training should, whenever possible, take one class that
has an internship or offers work experience with an employer.
(10) An individual may use training funds for:
(a) Tuition;
(b) Books;
(c) Fees;
(d) Support services; and
(e) Additional training after the individual becomes employed
if the training will advance the individual to the next level in
the individual's career or prepare the individual for advancement
and the training prepares the individual for a job that meets
retention requirements established by the State Workforce
Investment Board.
(11) Individuals who receive training in anticipation of
acquiring a new job may receive training only for jobs that meet
the wage level requirements established in subsection (7) of this
section.
(12) An individual may receive no more than $3,000 each
biennium under this section.
(13) Local and regional boards may use grant funds for the
administrative costs of the program. The Department of Community
Colleges and Workforce Development shall limit the amount of
grant funds that may be used for administrative costs by a local
or regional board so that the amount of grant funds used for
those administrative costs does not exceed the limitation on
administrative costs established in the federal Workforce
Investment Act.
(14) Local and regional boards shall report to the department
on the use of grant funds and any performance measures required
by the State Workforce Investment Board. + }
SECTION 4. { + Section 5 of this 2007 Act is added to and made
a part of ORS 660.002 to 660.210. + }
SECTION 5. { + (1) Based on guidelines developed by the State
Apprenticeship and Training Council, in consultation with the
State Workforce Investment Board, the council shall award grants
for programs that enhance the development of an apprenticeship
and training system that supplies skilled labor to meet the
occupational demands of the construction and manufacturing
industries. The council shall give a preference to grant
applicants that agree to match the moneys received from the grant
with private funds or in-kind services or materials having a
value that is equal to or greater than the amount of the grant.
(2) To better integrate local apprenticeship and training
programs with the state's workforce system for the purpose of
recruitment, retention, assessment or preparation of applicants
for entry into those programs, grant applicants shall demonstrate
that integration or a high level of coordination exists between
local joint committees with which the grant applicant has a
relationship and other strategic partners, where applicable, or
that the grant applicant has the capacity to quickly establish
such integration or coordination.
(3) The council may award grants on a competitive basis to any
of the following:
(a) Apprenticeship and training programs that are registered
with the council;
(b) School districts and education service districts;
(c) Post-secondary educational institutions;
(d) Not-for-profit organizations; and
(e) Local or regional workforce investment boards.
(4) The council shall seek information on supply and demand for
apprenticeable occupations from the Employment Department and
from other sources of reliable data and analysis.
(5) Prior to awarding grant funds for other programs, the
council shall award grant funds for programs that provide
training for apprenticeable occupations that pay at or above the
median income for the county in which the program is located and
that are included on the regional list of high demand
occupations.
(6) In developing guidelines for awarding grant funds, the
council shall consider employer needs, local and state workforce
strategic plans and information on supply and demand obtained by
the council under subsection (4) of this section.
(7) The grants may be used to:
(a) Provide technical assistance to promote, expand or improve
apprenticeship and training programs;
(b) Educate middle and high school students about
apprenticeable occupations;
(c) Provide individuals with practical experience in
apprenticeable occupations to increase their skills as necessary
to enter an apprenticeship program;
(d) Provide financial assistance or supportive services to
apprentices to complete a program;
(e) Develop a curriculum for programs in rural areas;
(f) Increase diversity in apprenticeship and training programs
and in apprenticeable occupations;
(g) Develop and provide an educational outreach program
coordinated by the council to increase awareness of
apprenticeship and training programs;
(h) Address systemic barriers that deter the efficient
transition of high school students into apprenticeship and
training programs; and
(i) Build connections between individuals in the workforce and
the apprenticeship training system.
(8) Grant recipients may use grant funds for the administrative
costs of the program. The council shall limit the amount of grant
funds that may be used for administrative costs by a grant
recipient so that the amount of grant funds used for those
administrative costs does not exceed the limitation on
administrative costs established in the federal Workforce
Investment Act.
(9) The council, in consultation with the State Workforce
Investment Board, shall adopt performance measures for programs
that receive grant funds.
(10) Each biennium, the council shall report to the Governor on
the use of grant funds and the performance measures established
by the council. + }
SECTION 6. { + This 2007 Act being necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public peace, health and safety, an emergency
is declared to exist, and this 2007 Act takes effect July 1,
2007. + }
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